Gould, a born-and-raised Austinite, has dedicated her life to music and to “creating moments of collective effervescence with the community.”
Gould said her choice to pursue music full time has not come without trade-offs, as the average gig pay has not kept pace with Austin’s cost of living and more local venues are closing doors, some reopening as event centers or bars that don’t offer live music.
Two-minute impact
Austin City Council has taken action dozens of times to support the local music scene since its famed 1991 resolution that proclaimed Austin as the Live Music Capital of the World due to its abundance of venues and artists.
However, employees at the Red River Cultural District, a nonprofit focused on retaining 12 downtown live music venues, said more financial support is needed from the city to preserve Austin’s live music scene.
In late January, the district formally requested an immediate $200,000 in funding from City Council to improve Red River’s marketing efforts, support venues and maintain the districts’ two annual events: Hot Summer Nights and Free Week.
The funding would also go toward conducting an analysis of how the local arts scene boosts the city’s economy.
The request comes as dozens of Austin venues have either shuttered or stopped offering live music, based on reporting by Community Impact, and musicians are saying the average gig pay is making it difficult to make ends meet.
This trend was backed by the 2022 Austin Music Census, which revealed 84% of music people want to continue working in Austin, but only 64% said they will continue living in the Austin metro area. The census also found local musicians are playing fewer gigs per month on average compared to the 2014 census.
A closer look
Gould said average gig pay in Austin often depends on factors outside the band’s control, such as how many drinks the bar sells.
“I’ve put together these series that go really well, and people are so excited about them,” Gould said. “But then at the end of the day, it just doesn’t continue [because they] didn’t sell enough booze.”
Though gig pay can be uncertain, Gould said a city program that offers $200 an hour per musician for city-sponsored events has helped her negotiate better deals. However, a musician would be fortunate to play two or three city-sponsored events a year, said Anne-Charlotte Patterson, Austin Music Commission vice chair.
Aside from city events, Patterson said the music commission struggles to find ways to regulate how private venues or organizations pay artists, including during the South by Southwest Conference & Festivals.
Artists playing at SXSW events successfully lobbied for a small pay bump last summer, though members of the Austin-based band Half Dream say it’s still not enough.
What else
Amid a tough climate for local musicians, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, or HAAM, offers free health insurance to over 3,000 local musicians, about 75% of whom earn less than $25,000 a year.
HAAM CEO Paul Scott said the program has saved local artists from paying thousands of dollars worth of health care bills that might have stayed with them for the rest of their lives. He said the program has also encouraged more artists to pursue their music careers in Austin knowing they have their health care expenses covered.
“We’ve helped mitigate some of that impact of affordability, but we can’t solve it altogether,” Scott said. “Housing is a larger issue that’s going to take a community effort.”
What's next
Austin leaders have several plans in the works to help local venues and artists keep making music.
On Feb. 16, organizers for Blues on the Green announced it was back on, weeks after it was cancelled due to costs. H-E-B and city of Austin officials stepped in to help.
Additionally, council member Natasha Harper-Madison put forth a resolution Feb. 15 to support the city’s music ecosystem, like co-sponsoring more live music events.
“Our vision is that the future generations of Austinites will get to experience live music events and traditions that are the fabric of our uniquely Austin quality of life.” Harper-Madison said.
City Council approved a resolution Feb. 29, drafted by council member Zo Qadri, who represents downtown Austin including the Red River area, which may direct city resources to help the Red River Merchants Association.
A contract will be developed this spring to help fund year-round marketing for Red River district, public programming, reporting on the district's economic impact and more.
To view this story with additional graphics as it appeared in the February edition of Community Impact, click here.
Ben Thompson contributed to this report.
